Earth auger

ABSTRACT

An earth auger comprises an open topped frame having a downwardly sloping floor leading to a discharge end opening having a pivoted closure door. A boss at the bottom of the tray mounts a downwardly extending hollow auger tube. Brackets above the tray mouth a motor unit and a thrust bearing. The motor unit engages the thrust bearing and drives a screw auger that extends downwardly through the tube; the screw auger has an enlarged downwardly through lower end so that the hole it cuts is larger than the auger tube.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Stephen S. Koziski 872 Upper Sherman Ave., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada [21] Appl. No. 781,910

[22] Filed Dec. 6, 1968 [45] Patented Jan. 19, 1971 [54] EARTH AUGER 4 Claims, 1 Drawing Fig.

[52] U.S. Cl 175/88 [51] Int. Cl E2lb4l/00 [50] Field olSearch 175/88, 207

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,220,527 3/1917 Martin 175/88 1,927,871 9/1933 Irwin 175/88X 2,197,989 4/1940 Tyler 175/207X 2,738,163 3/1956 Shields 175/88X 3,190,375 6/1965 Pearson 175/88 3,360,058 12/1967 VonRuden 175/207 Primary ExaminerNile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney-Church and Rogers ABSTRACT: An earth auger comprises an open topped frame having a downwardly sloping floor leading to a discharge end opening having apivoted closure door. A boss at the bottom of the tray mounts a downwardly extending hollow auger tube, Brackets above the tray mouth a motor unit and a thrust hearing. The motor unit engages the thrust bearing and drives a screw auger that extends downwardly through the tube; the screw auger has an enlarged lower end so that the hole it cuts is larger than the auger tube.

PATENTEU JAN 1 919?! INVEN'IOR. STEPHE N S- KOZI SKI PATENT AGENTS EARTH AUGER FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to earth augers of the type intended to provide a sample of the soil through which they pass.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART It is now a common practice to take earth samples at a number of spaced points over an area to be cultivated, the samples being analyzed to determine the specific requirements of the area for fertilizer etc., to suit the particular soil,

climate and the crop that is to be grown. Modern techniques in this field require that a large number of samples be provided at different depths, usually to a total depth of about 3 feet, and the production of numerous samples by hand equipment is a laborious and tiring operation. The motorised equipment proposed hitherto for producing such samples has generally been of an expensive and Complicated nature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a motorised earth auger of new form.

It is a specific object of the invention to provide a motorised earth auger of simple form that is particularly suited for the collection of separate samples of the earth withdrawn by the auger at different depths in the soil.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided an earth auger comprising an. auger tube having an operative upper end and an operative lower end and having an earth discharge opening adjacent the said upper end, means mounting an auger member in the tube for operative rotational movement therein to draw earth into the bottom end of the tube and to discharge it through the said opening, means for mounting a driving motor adjacent the said tube upper end for operative driving engagement with the said auger member, and means providing a tray member adjacent the said tube upper end to receive earth discharged through the said, openmg.

DESCRIPTION OF TI-IE DRAWING.

A particular preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, the single FIG. of which is a general perspective view taken from above and to one side to show the general structure of the earth auger, parts thereof being shown broken away as necessary for clarity of illustration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An earth auger in accordance with the present invention comprises a deep open-topped tray member 10, which also constitutes a main frame for the device, the frame member.

tegral with the member 10 extends 'over the open top thereof;

and constitutes means mounting a thrust bearing 15 disposed centrally on the bracket with its axis of rotation generally vertical and coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the auger tube. A vertically extending bracket member 16, also integral with the frame member 10, serves to mount a driving motor indicated generally herein by the reference 17', the motor being fastened theretoby a bolt 18. An output shaft of the driving motor carries a chuck 19 which is engaged with the thrust bearing 15 and grasps the upper end of an auger member 20 that extends through the auger tube and is rotatable therein.

In this particular embodiment the driving motor 17 comprises a self-contained, portable gasoline'engine 21 with an integral gear box and mounted in an enclosing frame 22 pro vided with handles 23 and 24. Such units are readily available commercially and render the earth auger completely independent of any external source of power. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other types of motor can be used, such as a suitably geared electric motor,"or the power takeoff via a flexible shaft from an adjacent tractor. The tray member 10 is itself provided with a horizontally extending operator's handle 25 which can be used in cases where the motor unit itself does not have such a handle.

With the auger tube 12 in its operative upright position, wherein its longitudinal axis of rotation and that of the auger are vertical, the bottom of the tray member 10 is inclined downward at a relatively steep angle, so that the earth which is drawn into the auger tube and discharged from the said earth discharge opening will upon entering the tray member tend to slide under gravity towards the lowermost end portion thereof. This lowermost end portion is provided with a closure door 26 pivoted to the tray member 10 at 27, and normally held in the closed position by a retaining clip 28.

The lower end of the auger member 20 is provided with an enlarged tip 29 of greater radius than that of the auger tube exterior, so that the hole which is formed thereby is somewhat larger than that of the auger tube, and there is therefore no tendency for the surrounding earth to bind around the tube and hinder its withdrawal at the conclusion of the sampling operation.

In a particularly advantageous method of operation of my new device a large number of successive samples can be obtained at different depths from the same hole without cross contamination between the samples. In this method the driving motor is started and the auger pressed by the operator into the earth until it has penetrated the distance required for a first sample, usually 6 inches. The exterior of the auger tube is provided with suitable markings, such as circumferential bands 30, so as to indicate clearly to the operator when this particular depth is reached. At-this point the auger is stopped in its downward travel and held stationary in the earth, while the. motor rotates the auger member and thereby feeds the earth in the tube upwards until it is expelled into the tray member. The earth sample will usually slide down to the lowermost end, but if too sticky it can be made to do so by a gentle tapping of the tray, or even by moving the fingers. The

' closure door 26 is'then opened and the sample discharged into a suitable container. The door is again closed and the downward movement of the auger continued for the distance required for the second-sample, and so-on until the required maximum depth has been reached and all of the required separate samples have been taken. The auger is quickly and easily removed from the earth because of the enlarged hole that hasbeen drilled by the oversized tip'29, as described above.

It will be apparent to those skilled'in the art that a particular construction only has been described, and variations and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An. earth auger comprising an auger tube having an operative upperend and an operative lower end and having an earth discharge opening adjacent the said upper end, means mounting an auger member in the tube for operative rotational movement therein to draw earth into the-bottom end of the tube and to discharge it through the said opening, means for mounting a driving motor adjacent the said tube upper end for operative driving engagement with the said' auger member, and a trayv member mounted adjacent the said tube upper end to receive earth discharged through the said opening, wherein with the auger tube in anoperative position the bottom of the tray member is inclined downwardly for the earth received therein to tend to collect at the lowermost portion thereof, and the said lowermost portion of the tray member is provided with an opcnable closure door and releasable means for retaining the door in the closed position.

2. An earth auger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means mounting the auger tube and the auger member and providing a tray member comprise an open-topped frame member constituting the said tray, a boss in the bottom of the frame member receiving the said auger tube with the upper end of the tube opening to the interior of the tray member and constituting the said earth discharge opening, and bracket means integral with the frame member and extending above the frame member for mounting the driving motor and the auger member.

3. An earth auger as claimed in claim 2, and comprising handle means extending generally horizontally from the said frame member for manual handling of the auger by an operator.

4. An earth auger comprising an auger tube having an operative upper end and an operative lower end and having an earth discharge opening adjacent the said upper end, means mounting an auger member in the tube for operative rotational movement therein to draw earth into the operative end of the tube and to discharge it through the said opening. means for mounting a driving motor adjacent the said tube upper end for operative driving engagement with the said auger member, a tray member mounted adjacent the said tube upper end to receive earth discharged through the said opening, the said tray member in operative position having the bottom thereofinclined downwardly for the received earth to collect at the lowermost portion thereof, an openable closure door at the said lowermost portion of the tray member, a boss in the bottom of the tray member receiving the said auger tube with the upper end of the tube opening to the interior of the tray member and constituting the said earth discharge opening, a bracket extending above the tray member, a thrust bearing mounted by said bracket to receive an auger member which extends through the auger tube and the thrust bearing, and means for mounting the driving motor in operative engagement with the auger member and the said thrust bearing. 

1. An earth auger comprising an auger tube having an operative upper end and an operative lower end and having an earth discharge opening adjacent the said upper end, means mounting an auger member in the tube for operative rotational movement therein to draw earth into the bottom end of the tube and to discharge it through the said opening, means for mounting a driving motor adjacent the said tube upper end for operative driving engagement with the said auger member, and a tray member mounted adjacent the said tube upper end to receive earth discharged through the said opening, wherein with the auger tube in an operative position the bottom of the tray member is inclined downwardly for the earth received therein to tend to collect at the lowermost portion thereof, and the said lowermost portion of the tray member is provided with an openable closure door and releasable means for retaining the door in the closed position.
 2. An earth auger as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means mounting the auger tube and the auger member and providing a tray member comprise an open-topped frame member constituting the said tray, a boss in the bottom of the frame member receiving the said auger tube with the upper end of the tube opening to the interior of the tray member and constituting the said earth discharge opening, and bracket means integral with the frame member and extending above the frame member for mounting the driving motor and the auger member.
 3. An earth auger as claimed in claim 2, and comprising handle means extending generally horizontally from the said frame member for manual handling of the auger by an operator.
 4. An earth auger comprising an auger tube having an operative upper end and an operative lower end and having an earth discharge opening adjacent the said upper end, means mounting an auger member in the tube for operative rotational movement therein to draw earth into the operative end of the tube and to discharge it through the said opening, means for mounting a driving motor adjacent the said tube upper end for operative driving engagement with the said auger member, a tray member mounted adjacent the said tube upper end to receive earth discharged through the said opening, the said tray member in operative position having the bottom thereof inclined downwardly for the received earth to collect at the lowermost portion thereof, an openable closure door at the said lowermost portion of the tray member, a boss in the bottom of the tray member receiving the said auger tube with the upper end of the tube opening to the interior of the tray member and constituting the said earth discharge opening, a bracket extending above the tray member, a thrust bearing mounted by said bracket to receive an auger member which extends through the auger tube and the thrust bearing, and means for mounting the driving motor in operative engagement with the auger member and the said thrust bearing. 